Meet Jeffrey — the face of Fetching Apparel!

It had to have been those perky, folded over, velvety ears and wise eyes staring back at us in the PetFinder.com photo that sold us. Jeffrey was going to be our dog.

Although he’d been in a wonderful foster home for 6 months, when we brought him home in 2007, we quickly discovered that this former shelter dog was going to take a lot of convincing when it came to the love and affection we had to offer.

On day one, I was so excited to have Jeffrey and immediately headed out to the Virginia Creeper Trail – our local walking/biking trail. Jeffrey cowered as a cyclist whizzed past us. I got down to his level to reassure him he was safe, but he was a nervous wreck. We returned home and a seemingly emotionally exhausted Jeffrey flopped down for nap under our kitchen window. I was determined to provide comfort and laid down beside him; we both fell asleep.

That night, Jeffrey was reluctant to join us in our room on his upstairs bed (we purchased two so he’d have one on each floor), so I slept on the couch to be near him. He watched me from afar and did not answer my calls to come over. In the morning, I awakened to find one of my socks, which I had pulled off in the night, over by Jeffrey’s bed. He’d come up to me while I slept! I was overjoyed. Progress!

Since then, Jeffrey has blossomed as a member of our family. It took about a year to really get him out of his shell, but after that people started telling us he was like a new dog. He still grapples with separation anxiety and our house has paid the price – particularly the woodwork – but we wouldn’t trade our time with Jeffrey for anything.

He is not only beautiful, with his plumed tail and regal face, Jeffrey is also extremely gentle, loyal and loving. And now that we have two children and a new four-legged brother for Jeffrey (Dasher!), we’ve also learned he’s quite protective. He truly watches out for his pack and he’s happiest when we’re all together.

We may never fully know the pasts of our precious shelter animals, but we do know that with patience and love, they can enrich our lives in so many ways.

Jeffrey is the inspiration for Fetching Apparel and that’s why we chose to use his image as our logo. That smiling face speaks to us in so many ways. And when you wear Fetching Apparel, you too will make a statement. It’s a way to let others know that you support our mission to reduce the homeless pet population, and you’ll also help encourage adoption.